Malware is a cost to computer and network users in all types of environments. A user (client) may rely on a security server or appliance to provide protection against malicious content or attacks. It remains a challenge to correctly and effectively detect malicious software. On occasion, a file that was previously identified by a security server as clean (or of unknown status) may subsequently be discovered to be malicious. Conversely, a file that was previously identified as malicious may subsequently be discovered to be clean. The effects of a misidentified file typically need to be rectified on an end user device, by way of a notification of the state transition from the security server. However, a security server may be overwhelmed with tasks, resulting in a long wait time for a user to receive a response from the security server regarding the status of a file.